{"id":413281,"date":"2024-09-24T07:33:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T07:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=413281"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"It-s-Time-to-Help-Protect-Yourself-from-the-Flu-and-COVID-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/It-s-Time-to-Help-Protect-Yourself-from-the-Flu-and-COVID-19\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Time to Help Protect Yourself  from the Flu and COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><p class=\"p1\">(NAPSI)\u2014While there\u2019s no distinct COVID-19 season like there is for the flu, it\u2019s been shown that COVID-19 can peak during the winter months. To help fight respiratory illnesses, it\u2019s recommended you get a flu vaccination, as well as the updated COVID-19 vaccine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people six months and older, with rare exception, should get the updated annual flu vaccine, ideally by the end of October. The CDC also recommends that everyone ages six months and older should get the updated 2024\u20132025 COVID-19 vaccine, unless otherwise noted, to help restore and enhance protection against the currently circulating virus variants.<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">It\u2019s especially important to protect certain populations. This includes those at increased risk of complications from severe flu or COVID-19 illness, such as adults 65 and older, people with certain immunocompromising or chronic medical conditions, infants, children younger than two and pregnant women.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u201cPreventive vaccinations are the best way to protect yourself and your family from seasonal illnesses,\u201d said Dr. Sree Chaguturu, executive vice president and chief medical officer at CVS Health. \u201cAccess to preventive vaccinations is critical to keeping communities healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">According to Dr. Chaguturu, it\u2019s helpful to understand the science behind vaccines so people feel informed and safe getting vaccinated.<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\"><strong>Myth #1: You should wait until flu season peaks to get vaccinated.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">According to the CDC, the timing of flu season is difficult to predict and can vary in different parts of the country and from season to season. It\u2019s important to get vaccinated before flu season peaks or outbreaks occur in your area since it takes about two weeks for your body to build up protection after getting vaccinated.<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\"><strong>Myth #2: You can\u2019t receive other vaccinations with the flu shot.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">The CDC says patients can get a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the flu vaccine and other eligible vaccines. At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cvs.com\/immunizations\/get-vaccinated\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CVS Pharmacy<\/a>, patients can schedule multiple vaccinations in one appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\"><strong>Myth #3: You don\u2019t need updated vaccinations for the flu.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p2\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">Getting the flu shot every year is essential because the body\u2019s protection from the vaccine declines over time. Also, flu viruses vary yearly, so receiving the latest vaccine formulation provides optimal protection.<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">Flu shot appointments (for up to four people in one appointment) can be scheduled at CVS Pharmacy or MinuteClinic by visiting <a href=\"http:\/\/CVS.com\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CVS.com<\/a> or the CVS Pharmacy app.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cvs.com\/immunizations\/get-vaccinated\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">You can visit CVS.com to learn more about vaccinations or schedule an appointment.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">Word Count: 392<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><p class=\"p1\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"click-to-tweet\"><span class=\"tweet-button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=According%20to%20the%20Centers%20for%20Disease%20Control%20and%20Prevention%20%28CDC%29%2C%20patients%20six%20months%20and%20older%20should%20get%20updated%20flu%20and%20COVID-19%20vaccines%2C%20ideally%20by%20the%20end%20of%20October%2C%20to%20restore%20and%20enhance%20protection%20against%20the%20most%20common%20virus%20variants.&amp;original_referer=https:\/\/clicktotweet.com&amp;related=clicktotweet\" target=\"new\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"twitter-button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mynewstouse.com\/images\/clicktotweet.jpeg\" height=\"20\" \/>\u00a0<\/a><\/span><span class=\"copy\">&#8220;According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), patients six months and older should get updated flu and COVID-19 vaccines, ideally by the end of October, to restore and enhance protection against the most common virus variants.&#8221;<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"copy\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><div id=\"sb-container on-left\" class=\"NonPrintable\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/03c4b18b23ed03352ca746b2c8ead3a5.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"top-carousel\" class=\"carousel slide\">\n<div class=\"carousel-inner\">\n<div class=\"item active\">\n<div class=\"caption\"><strong>You can schedule an appointment for the seasonal flu vaccine, as well as COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pneumococcal pneumonia vaccinations at your local CVS Pharmacy at CVS.com.<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(NAPSI)\u2014While there\u2019s no distinct COVID-19 season like there is for the flu, it\u2019s been shown&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-413281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}